cafe du maroc

cinnamon, black pepper & cumin

 It was while I was attempting to organize and compile an extensive configuration of recipes I'd collected that I decided I really wanted a cup of coffee. 

Not just any cup of coffee, mind you, but a deliciously-full-bodied-luxurious-exotic-tradewinds-just-like-a-tv-commerical cup of coffee, so I could close my eyes in absolute caffeinated pleasure like the ladies drinking folgers or maxwell house (ahem, "eww") in commercials (funny how you never see a Starbuck's commercial-at least I haven't).  After an hour or so of digging for and through my aforementioned recipes that were scattered and strewn across so many different CDs (as well as those immortal fluorescent-colored floppies), I decided that if I couldn't mess up my kitchen trying something new for dinner (to my son's horror) I could at least have a cup of coffee.  

That was when I realized that I didn't have one coffee, tea, or exotic beverage recipe. My recipe collection consists primarily of stolen family recipes (that my mother doesn't know I have, hehe), as well as New Orleans cuisine that I am truly dying to try.  I also love the recipes from Kenya, Ethiopia, and the Middle East (Israeli and Jewish).  I must have about 7 charoset recipes alone, including Persian, Moroccan and Yemenite. 

So, I decided to do a quick search. 

My search led me to a truly fun website called Recipe Zaar.  It lets you search for recipes by type or category, by individual ingredients, or by nutritional facts.  A search of the word "coffee" itself gave me 1,431 results from the database. I decided I was in heaven.  

I'm not even sure how I came across this Moroccan Spiced Coffee recipe, but it is here.  Of course, I modified it a bit, because its primary ingredient is milk, which I didn't want to use at the time.  I basically mix the other (dry) ingredients in with my own favorite ground coffee (Seattle Best - Bright) before putting the mixture into a coffee press.  According to the recipe, its the sugar that you add which brings out flavor of the other (spiced) ingredients. 

Maroc

The Taste

How to describe the flavor of this coffee: It's unbelievable.  It tastes exotic, is surprisingly smooth, and not as bitter as coffee is usually. It will probably remind you of something else.  Personally, I've never been to New Orleans, but I once shared a pot of Coffee-with-Chicory with a co-worker who'd ordered it from Cafe Du Monde in New Orleans.  This is the closest in similarity. 

The spices for the Moroccan coffee are also probably not what you may be used to putting in your coffee:  salt, pepper, cumin and cinnamon, so I would advise anyone trying the recipe to not overdo on any one ingredient, but to try to keep them equal and blend them well.

I hope you enjoy it. 

- Ronni.